Excalibur #24 Preview

Excalibur #24

Writer: Tini Howard

Art by: Marcus To

Cover by: Mahmud Asrar

The Story:

Kingdoms of Blood!

The ten kingdoms of Otherworld must decide: Are Excalibur heroes of the realm, or witchbreed to be put to the stake? The peace brought to Otherworld by their X of Swords victory comes to an end.

In Stores: November 6, 2021

  

Mahmud Asrar Says Goodbye to 'Excalibur'

After revealing the cover to Excalibur #26, Mahmud Asrar took to Twitter to say goodbye to Excalibur.

Asrar: A bittersweet experience getting to work on this cover as it marks the end of my longest cover run for Marvel. It was wonderful to be a part of this series and it’s all thanks to my collaborators and you!

The solicit for December's Excalibur #26 seems to indicate the book will end; however, no official confirmation was given. According to Entertainment Weekly "most (though not all) X-Men comics will temporarily pause to give the spotlight to The X Lives of Wolverine/The X Deaths of Wolverine", a weekly event running from January 2022.

Whether Excalibur will be relaunched in 2022 remains to be seen.

X-Solicits for December 2021

	Excalibur #26 Tini Howard (W) • Marcus To (A) Cover by: Mahmud Asrar Variant Cover by: Betsy Cola Otherworld Falls! Merlyn and King Arthur have taken the Starlight Citadel. Saturnyne still lives – but not for long. Betsy Braddock must decide once and for all where her loyalties lie. It’s all been building to this – the fantasy ends here and reality rushes in. There is no haven for the witchbreed. Can they hold on to their champion, here at the twilight of an age?
	Inferno #4 (of 4) Jonathan Hickman (W) • Valerio Schiti (A) Cover by: Jerome Opeña Variant Cover by: Pepe Larraz Variant Cover by: Davi Go Variant Cover by: Jeff Dekal Variant Cover by: Peach Momoko Variant Cover by: Iban Coello Variant Cover by: David Baldeón Variant Cover by: Oscar Vega Foreshadow Variant Cover by: TBA Hidden Gem Variant Cover by: Udon To Embers! Jonathan Hickman’s time on X-Men ends with the dramatic conclusion of one of the first and best mysteries he brought to the line. Valerio Schiti returns on art to help bring down one of the foundations of the era.
	X-Men #6 Gerry Duggan (W) • Pepe Larraz (A/C) Variant Cover by: Pepe Larraz Trading Card Variant Cover by: Russell Dauterman Whatever Happened to Captain Krakoa? There’s a new hero on the X-Men. Who is he? Why is here? And why does Cyclops not want him on the team?
	Marauders #27 Gerry Duggan (W) • Matteo Lolli (A) Cover by: Russell Dauterman Variant Cover by: Dike Ruan The Sun Sets on the Marauders. The Marauders’ first tour comes to a close as the shake-ups within the Hellfire Trading Company crystalize. Will any of the inner circle remain standing? And can the crew survive the changes happening around them?
	New Mutants #24 Vita Ayala (W) • Danilo Beyruth (A) Cover by: Martin Simmonds Variant Cover by: Peach Momoko New Status Quo for the New Mutants! The New Mutants regroup in the aftermath of the Shadow King’s attack! What will become of Amahl Farouk? Why is Warpath…crying?! How many snikts can fit into one panel? What happens to the Lost when they find one another? All this and more in a single issue—plus the setup for the next big arc, a story too magical to be believed.
	X-Force #26 Benjamin Percy (W) • Robert Gill (A) Cover by: Joshua Cassara Variant Cover by: Stephen Segovia Eruption! Domino, Kid Omega and Wolverine head back into the thresher to recover the precious cargo stolen from Krakoa! If the team can survive the volcanic eruption and stormy seas, there’s still the organization behind the plot—the reveal of which will have major ramifications on the next issues of X-Force! And the debut of the next wave of Mutant technology! Move over, Blackbird jet!
	Hellions #18 Zeb Wells (W) • Zé Carlos & Stephen Segovia (A) Cover by: Stephen Segovia Variant Cover by: Philip Tan Variant Cover by: Peach Momoko Variant Cover by: Kael Ngu Variant Cover by: Inhyuk Lee Hellions No More! Orphan-Maker has committed a horrible crime. As he faces the ultimate penalty, the cracks in the HELLIONS team are on full display. Secrets, betrayals, alliances and loss all come to the surface as the fallout of Orphan-Maker’s actions threatens to end all the Hellions have worked toward! Plus: The return of a fan-favorite X-character in a decision that will rock the foundation of Krakoa!
	S.W.O.R.D. #11 Al Ewing (W) • Jacopo Camagni (A) Cover by: Stefano Caselli Variant Cover by: Paul Renaud The Final Frontier? Sword Station One is crashing to Earth. The Lethal Legion is poised to destroy the diplomatic zone. Abigail Brand is ready to make her move. But how far ahead did she plan? How many losses will she accept? And how many bodies will she leave in her wake?
	X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #5 (of 5) Leah Williams (W) • Lucas Werneck & David Messina (A) Cover by: Valerio Schiti Variant Cover by: Dan Jurgens Variant Cover by: Terry Dodson Justice is Served. The mystery surrounding Magneto and Scarlet Witch is resolved. The guilty will be judged, the innocent absolved, the victims avenged…and all shall endure their own trials.

Excalibur #24 Variant Cover by Rian Gonzales

Excalibur #23 Art

Excalibur #23 Spoilers

Spoilers: Dr. Doom visits the Braddock Lighthouse and requests passage to Otherworld through the Krakoan gateway. Doom hopes to use a Latverian mutant child to cross the gate and retrieve an item that belonged to Morgan Le Fay. After a brief discussion, Excalibur volunteers to guide Doom to Avalon instead. In Avalon, Meggan catches up with Excalibur while Doom leads them to the Valley of Wailing Mists. On their way to Castle Le Fay, an assassin from Sevalith engages in an assassination attempt, but his plans are foiled by Captain Britain. After the assassin disappears into the mist, Gambit remarks that relations between Avalon and Sevalith are tense these days. Meggan thinks it’s best to shapeshift into a brunette just in case. Doom is furious to learn that Castle Le Fay no longer stands on where it was supposed to. Meggan and Rictor use their powers and find out that the castle was magically taken away. Doom is enraged and demands to know the whereabouts of Morgan, Merlyn, Arthur and Mordred, Arthur’s son, while Jubilee learns from the fairies that someone took the castle to sell it in the Crooked Market.

Excalibur guides Doom to the Crooked Market. While Betsy and Doom seek an audience with Mad Jim Jaspers, Gambit takes Meggan, Jubilee and Rictor to a gambling den to have a little fun. Doom asks Jaspers for Morgan’s palace. Jaspers warns him that a box is all that was left of Morgan’s belongings. Jaspers and Doom aren’t able to reach a deal regarding the price and engage in an altercation, while Betsy is suspicious of Doom’s intentions. Suddenly, and army of Furies from the Everforge kingdom attacks Jaspers’ office specifically targeting Captain Britain and all “friends of Mordred”. Jaspers hands the box with Morgan’s belongings to Doom and tell them to leave.

Elsewhere, while Meggan, Jubilee and Rictor watch, Gambit gambles with a few locals and takes the opportunity to cheat using one of Saturnyne’s cards. While the locals reprimand him for being a thief, the place is also attacked by Furies. Excalibur flees from the Furies and ends up reuniting with Betsy and Doom. The Furies warn that they have sworn their allegiance to King Arthur and that all “friends of Mordred” must die. Captain Britain argues that attacking her is an attack against the Starlight Citadel itself and that the Furies have also sworn to abide by the Citadel’s laws. After a brief battle, the Furies decide to leave to discuss the conflicting programming with the Fury leader, Forgemaster Federal.

Back on Earth, Doom sends a letter to Betsy warning that the box from Jaspers contained a shrunken Castle Le Fay. As a token of appreciation, Doom sends the Waters of Otherworld from Morgan’s scrying pool to Betsy in the hope she is able to obtain answers regarding Arthur and Mordred. Betsy asks for Meggan’s help and Gloriana deduces that Arthur cast out his son Mordred because he is a mutant, which means that a “friend of Mordred” means mutant.

Excalibur #23 Preview

Excalibur #23

Writer: Tini Howard

Art by: Marcus To

Cover by: Mahmud Asrar

The Story:

The Call of Doom!

As guardians of the gate, Excalibur has sworn to safely escort those who quest to the Otherworld within, but their duties are tested to their limits when Doom returns to Avalon.

In Stores: September 8, 2021